Who Benefits from Temple-Mosque Disputes in India?
What is the Places of Worship Act?
The Places of Worship Act, 1991, prohibits the conversion of any religious site as it existed on August 15, 1947. This law was enacted to maintain communal harmony amid the Ram Temple movement. However, loopholes and conflicting interpretations have led to repeated challenges.
The law allows investigations into the historical nature of a site, but critics argue that such surveys fuel unrest without offering constructive outcomes. If no changes can be made to a religious site, what purpose do these investigations serve?
A Historical Perspective: Is This New?
The debate isn’t limited to mosques. Claims have also been made about Hindu temples built over Buddhist sites. For instance, the Rameshwar Dham and Kerala’s Sabarimala Temple have been contested, with tribal groups alleging historical injustices.
In 2018, PK Sajeev of the Aikya Mala Araya Mahasabha stated, “The government must return the temple to us and correct historical mistakes. It’s time to atone for past atrocities.”
These claims reveal the complex layers of history and faith, raising uncomfortable questions about how we preserve and interpret our heritage.
Even leaders within the Hindutva movement have expressed caution about the growing number of such disputes. In 2022, during a speech in Nagpur, RSS chief Mohan Bhagwat said
Despite such remarks advocating restraint, the campaigns to find temples beneath mosques have continued unabated. What do these actions signify in the larger socio-political context?
Recurring Patterns in Violence
Protests over religious sites often escalate into violence. Police responses typically blame “unidentified shooters” within the crowd. But two pressing questions remain:
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Why are these incidents so common during protests involving a specific community?
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Why hasn’t the police developed strategies to prevent such violence?
